Government of Canada invests $53.3M to upgrade highways near the U.S. border
By Kate Ayers
Staff Writer
Farms.com
The federal government will invest $53.3 million to improve Saskatchewan highways along the American border.
Ralph Goodale, minister of public safety and emergency preparedness, made the announcement on Thursday, a Government of Saskatchewan release said.
The improvements should help the provinces’ producers, Brandy Leippi, the communications consultant for Saskatchewan’s ministry of highway and infrastructure, said to Farms.com yesterday.
Indeed, “southeast Saskatchewan has a high percentage of farmers,” she said. “More than 55 per cent of the total land in this area is in crops.”
Highways 6 and 39 are part of an international trade corridor and Saskatchewan’s most heavily used connection to the US.
“This investment will increase the safety for farmers getting their crop to market as drivers will have more and safer opportunities to pass large, slower moving vehicles like Super Bs and agricultural implements or equipment,” Leippi said.
The investment will cover several projects, including:
- building 16 sets of passing lanes in the highest traffic volume areas of Highways 6 and 39 between Regina and Estevan
- twinning of short segments of the corridor south of Regina, north of Milestone and south of Weyburn
- restoring about 51 kilometres of pavement
- improving intersections as well as highway entrances and exits along the corridor
The government is providing the money through the National Trade Corridors Fund, which supports infrastructure projects across Canada to ensure continued success in international trade, the release said.
Indeed, transportation plays a significant role in Canada’s global trade. In total, international merchandise saw a value of $1.1 trillion in Canadian exports last year, the release said. And the U.S. accounted for 63.5 per cent of total Canadian trade.
UPDATED July 10, 2018
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